I think I can add a check to each of those on that extensive list of hobbies you mentioned. Traveling, cycling, German Shepherds, I love GSD's dude, they're my next phase in this life actually--breed my own line.
I also enjoy scuba diving. I had to load this clip to YouTube just now to share it here, #weekend-engagement is a good place to do that. It's a quick 3 minutes with a world of underwater life--enjoy!
(If you listen closely, you can hear my muffled attempt at directing the jelly fish anywhere other than my direction)
Holy Moly! That's like diving in an aquarium. Lots of really interesting fishies.
I dove just a little when I was in and just out of HS. The water where I grew up is pretty uniformly cold, it wasn't as much fun as it could have been.
One of my besties was a hard hat diver in the Navy for over 20 years. He tells some amazing stories of both diving AND liberty call :)
Oh man it's such a comfortable place to be. In Laguna Beach I've been in school of tuna probably 3' long but way to many hundred Ed of them to count. Good times down there, Catalina Island, too, saw a sea turtle down there once, biggest I've ever seen, thing was the size of a tailgate.
Don't you miss that weightlessness feeling? I can't get enough of it.
That clip I shared was a reef in shallow water, not anything big but lots of little guys.
Yeah, I do miss the weightless feeling. I sorta got to a place where I had to choose between diving and riding. I don't regret my choice at all...
My buddy tells lots of 'training dive' stories about Catalina and the piers at San Diego. Langusta. Lots of them :)
I've never scuba dived but have snorkelled on the Great Barrier Reef a few times, some 40km off shore. It's amazing...Clear vision for 40-50 metres and so much vibrant colours and animals. It's amazing.
What I like about what I've read so far is that so many people have hobbies that are so vastly different; I mean the individual. Scuba, bikes, dog breeding and travel in your case for instance. It's how I am also.
I had someone on hive sort of pigeon hole me as a gun person a few weeks ago...It's so incorrect though, I'm many different versions of myself and have so many hobbies and interests, to say I'm all about one is the very worst way to describe me. I like that may people are saying similar - It shows a diversity of character in people, which is good.
I've been hearing about the Great Barrier Reef my whole life. One of these days. One of these days.
It's next level...I mean literally off the chain.
My brother is heading to Airlie Beach from Cairns, where he lives, as I type this - He rented a sail boat and is spending the next week sailing the Whitsunday Islands and Barrier Reef. Good work if you can get it.
You need to make the effort and will not regret it.
What's the stay there, wait.. let me rephrase that....
When travel is back to normal, are you aware of the length my passport would be good there? Is it 90 days? And Pura's dual citizen, would her British passport only grant us the same 90?
👍🏿
12 months bro, tourist Visa. See link below.
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/visitor-600/tourist-stream-overseas
Oh dayum! This just got interesting. Thanks for that link. I got another one then. Is there a preferred time of year for best visibility at The Reef?
You'll need a year to see Australia so I guess that's why they give people so long.
You don't want to be at the top end (north) of Australia in the wet season. Cyclones don't you know. So, 1 May to 1 November should be ok. Outside of those times it can be hellishly hot and humid and the chances are it buckets down with rain all the time. Besides, if you go up there in summer it'll be stinger season and those things kill. (Box jellyfish including the deadly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irukandji_jellyfish)
Visibility on the GBR is dependant upon weather factors but generally it's pretty good. If you're in Cairns for a little while you can pick and chose the days you go. They have large tour operators with lavish boats and seafood lunches, right down to small operators in powered and sail boats. It's about 4oknm off shore though, so don't go in some pokey little dinghy, it'll take all day to get there.
https://www.australia.com/en/places/cairns-and-surrounds/guide-to-the-great-barrier-reef.html
I came over here cuz dudes new and I don't feel like explaining it to him. You're gonna love this.
(that just happened)
Oh dear me...
Traveling, cycling, dogs, scuba - I love the sound of ACTIVE I'm hearing here!
So what do you do when it's raining? Or when you've been stuck inside with Covid Quarantine?? Curious how the very active handle downtime when travel & outside is limited.
!ENGAGE 15
Not bad hobbies to have right? I'm The Luckiest Guy I Know.
Rain kinda negates everything--dinner date, car ride, etc. especially bicycles. Just gotta wait the rain out, it's a pretty unforgiving nature.
We only had to Quarantine once. When we were in England, we were locked down (they're still locked down). So we left.
Stateside, its business as usual here--pubs, gyms, restaurants, bike trails, gun shows (we went to a gun show and shooting range yesterday) etc. everything is open over here--'quarantine shwarantine'.
Tough to have hobbies and stay active when the powers that be enforce their will on us. Fortunately, we haven't had to deal with any of it since they kicked my American passport tf outta Europe.
What about where you are, they still being weird about Covid in Thailand? Over here in the US, they've reopened NFL stadiums to maximum capacity and musicians have began touring again.
Is Thailand still being weird about Covid? Define weird. 😆 WE have no covid, very few places requiring masks and people getting on with life just fine. Borders remain pretty tightly enclosed unless you have a long term visa, money and are prepared to do the Q. Let's just politely say ain't no broke-ass digital nomads coming to the Land of Smiles anytime soon, and the US passport is at the almost-bottom of every immigration official's list. We've had only 60 deaths total out of 70 million and have first batches of bubble-country tourists starting: China, Finland, New Zealand, Vietnam and South Korea. It's as much about containing the negative western narrative as it is about any virus. Asia is becoming Asian again.
Uhm alright. I'd be lying if I didn't say:
I can feel the tension you have toward someone who has no control over the ground they're birthed on.
One of the sweetest people my wife and I had the pleasure of meeting while being broke-ass digital nomads was a young lady from Thailand. She was touring with another young woman from South Korea--likely another pair of broke-ass digital nomads (probably why we got along so well).
We were at a cooking class in Rome, thankfully.. you know, being so broke and all. She was real sweet, we got along great and exchanged emails and WhatsApp info--we still keep in touch regularly and they're planning on paying us a visit in this negative western narrative as soon as this (whatever 'this' is) goes away but we got along exceptionally well so our door is always open.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend @artemislives.
We (the US) notched over 100,000 cases yesterday and for several days in a row now. Our death rate is under 1% but that's still 1000 people that will die in the next three weeks. From yesterday. Sigh. It looks like the Feds are actually looking for herd immunity. It will take a minimum of 200,000 total deaths to get there.
So I understand why the US passport is the bottom. Makes perfect sense to me.
Cardinal Stadium isn't at full capacity. Last week they let 1200 in and this week it's 2500. Over 60,000 short.
We in Arizona casualed the first wave and got hit pretty hard. The state is being WAY more restrictive this time. Masks are required.
I haven't spent a fraction of a second indulging in NFL since the first quarter of the 2016 super bowl.
My buddy here in Tennessee just told me a few weeks ago the Dolphins opened their stadium to full capacity. I didn't think to fact check him.
It's hit and miss here depending which street corner you're facing--mask, no mask. On Halloween here they hosted a country concert at full capacity and the headliner was Trace Adkins.
I have my own opinions on the whole thing but to attempt justifying them would be equal to judging someone else's opinion when, at the end of the day, I'm as much of a scientist as I am a judge. 👍🏿
Nicely said. I wear a mask when I'm in public. I don't particularly want the virus but even more I don't want to pass it on. It's like holding a door for a stranger for me. Government mandates don't enter in for me.
The Dolphins are going to play in front of a lot less than capacity today :)
Thank you. I'm glad you think so. I hope you're enjoying your weekend dude. Go... Cardinals?! That's who plays in Phoenix, right? 🤔
Glad I stopped paying attention to NFL
You know what man? I've never passed a joint when I'm sick--won't even consider it. When I see someone I haven't seen in awhile and they want to hug me, if I'm sick, I'll say something.. "I don't wanna get you sick."
I'm a door opening fool too dude! Kinda hurts my heart when I hold a door now for someone and they look at me with concern as they stop in their tracks and I can tell they'd rather I close the door on them instead of coming near me. It's all good (no judgments), I believe things happen the way they're supposed to and, as far as I know, AIDS is still burning like California wild fires but I don't see condom signs posted on public entrances.
I'm the dumbest guy on the crew ,though, guess that's what I get for not having a TV. I really should stick to easier topics like 'I wonder if Subaru makes a roof rack amongst their gajillion accessories pre-equipped with a kayak roller?'
Speaking of rollers...... Where was I?
We have common hobbies: traveling and scuba diving ( heheee everyone’s hobbies )
it's the only way to experience that 'weightlessness' feeling.Hey wassup @trangbaby? You know what I mean then when I say
Hey wassup wassup man 🤣🤣
Oh god I want to do scuba so bad!! It is on my list of things to do ;)
It's an experience @josehany. And the license is good for life so you can dive anywhere and everywhere. Worth the investment a bajillion times over.
I know I'm going to do that someday, I'm pretty sure ;)
nice clip
Hey thanks @diverrat. I'm glad you liked it.
Pretty cool video, it was a lot more noisy under than what I was expecting, you must have a nice camera to get all the nice pictures and the sound.
GoPro Hero 5 Black. The thing's pretty incredible. If I don't have the camera on an extension from my hand, you can hear me breathing in the regulator.
And it's durable-durable-durable! I can't tell you how many times I've dropped it. Works like a champ!
My wife has been wanting one of those, maybe next year. But then I'd want a drone, and then I would like crash, and then my wife would be rally ticked-off, but what the hell, if she still wants one we may end up getting one.
The scenario you just played out doesn't sound bad at all. And it has a crash landing! ithink you're ready for the big screen.
This is really an interesting hubby I would love to try out one day, I'm only scared of sharks, sea snakes and crocodile. Those are the only thing that can stop me
Crocodiles, yeah I'll steer clear from those. All other sea life, though, you'd be surprised. Something about that regulator in your mouth and the sea life are just interested in you. Nothing to be scared of, it's exciting.
I know its exciting, I will love to try it out
Take pictures when you do, tell us all about it. 👍🏿
I will
!ENGAGE 25
ENGAGEtokens.